pick-ups

daz801

I've got an old SX- stratolike that im doing up (new paint job, upgrade the electronics and what not) and was wandering what pick-ups i should get. willing to spend up to about 70euro. was also wandering if there is anything else i should change in it.

thanks.

Darkglasses

I'm not sure if that will be enough for 3 good new pick-ups...What sort of tone do you want from them?

Banjo

For that kind of money you're probably looking either at second hand or at GFS pickups from GuitarFetish. You'd get a matched set for around $70 + delivery off 'em. Otherwise you could look at putting a bareknuckle or duncan in at the bridge and work your way to saving up another 70 quid for the neck

Blackhorse Slim

I did the same thing myself, with a Guitarfetish set for about €40-€50, tbh the guitarfetish pickups were an improvement on the SX stock pickups but not a whole lot.

If I was doing it again I'd probably go with something like this;

http://www.thomann.de/ie/fenderscn_stratocaster_pickup_set_aw.htm

eoin5

Keep an eye out for someone selling mexican stock pups secondhand, youd probably pick those up for around that or less even.

daz801

are the gfs pickups from guitarfetish anygood???

GerryHayes

Burns are bringing out a set of MINI Tri-Sonics to retrofit a Strat. They're fitted in their new Cobra guitar (review on Burns site) and I'm hearing good things about them. Will be available as pickup set though only in the guitar for now. Apparently expected to retail for around STG£65.

Possibly worth hanging on for.

daz801

How long you recon they'll take to be sold seperatly?

At the moment looking at the gfs neovin noise free overwound pickups. has anyone got any experience with them?

daz801

when painting the guitar, do i need to wetsand between each coat of paint, what grain sand-paper should i use to wetsand i've read loads of opinions and they all say different things

GerryHayes

daz801 wrote: »

How long you recon they'll take to be sold seperatly?

At the moment looking at the gfs neovin noise free overwound pickups. has anyone got any experience with them?

Your guess is as good as mine on that one, I'm afraid. If you pressed me, I'd say it wouldn't be too long but that's just conjecture - nothing concrete.

GerryHayes

daz801 wrote: »

when painting the guitar, do i need to wetsand between each coat of paint, what grain sand-paper should i use to wetsand i've read loads of opinions and they all say different things

Veered a little off the topic of this thread but I'm happy to throw my tuppence in.

You don't need to wet-sand until after the finish has cured and you're getting towards buffing. Before that, when spraying, it's often helpful to dry-sand from time to time. It varies - sometimes you'll need hardly any but as a rule of thumb, sand (lightly) with 320 grit every few coats (maybe four or six) to level slightly if you think it needs it. You may need to scuff-sand every coat or two to get rid of those pointy nibs and bits of fluff that you sometimes get but that's only 'local' sanding - not the entire instrument.

When you get to wet-sanding, the grit depends on how good the finish you're sanding is before you start. I tend to start at 1000 but occasionally I'll need to start at 800. Make sure your sandpaper is really wet (soak it overnight at least) and keep it clean and wet. Change it often. Really often. Clogged paper is bad.

Good luck.

slavedave

I had a korean strat that I got and decided to upgrade the pickups to see what could be had for about 70 euro too. Bought a set of Tonerider Blues off of adverts and they are noticeably different to the stock pickups. I like them. THey do various "flavours" of pickups - City Limits, Pure Vintage and the Blues ones. Have a look at their site and all the great reviews they have online. I don't regret changing.
If you want the old strat single coils that I took off- have a look on adverts for them 'cos they are up for sale.

daz801

GerryHayes wrote: »

Veered a little off the topic of this thread but I'm happy to throw my tuppence in.

You don't need to wet-sand until after the finish has cured and you're getting towards buffing. Before that, when spraying, it's often helpful to dry-sand from time to time. It varies - sometimes you'll need hardly any but as a rule of thumb, sand (lightly) with 320 grit every few coats (maybe four or six) to level slightly if you think it needs it. You may need to scuff-sand every coat or two to get rid of those pointy nibs and bits of fluff that you sometimes get but that's only 'local' sanding - not the entire instrument.

When you get to wet-sanding, the grit depends on how good the finish you're sanding is before you start. I tend to start at 1000 but occasionally I'll need to start at 800. Make sure your sandpaper is really wet (soak it overnight at least) and keep it clean and wet. Change it often. Really often. Clogged paper is bad.

Good luck.

ye i know but i did'nt want to start a whole new thread.

I've done a coat of primer then lightly sanded it and then gave it another coat. i can see the wood grain in some areas, is this ok or will i have to sand it down again?

GerryHayes

Depends what you mean. If the grain is visible because the paint has 'sunk' into the tiny pores in the wood, effectively leaving lots of tiny holes or dents in the paint (i.e. you can actually feel it if you rub your fingers across it), you need to do some work in filling the grain. Lots of woods are open-pored and some of the common solid-body guitar woods like ash and mahogany fall into this list. They need to have the pores filled up with grain-filler before too much finish goes on.

If this is the case, and depending on what you've used as a primer, it's probably possible to do this over the primer you've already applied - it's unlikely you need to sand back to bare wood to do so. Grain filler should be easy to come by - you'll probably be able to get Rustin's brand stuff in Woodies or similar.

Or, if you're lazy, you could go with the non-filled look. There's even a couple of Gibsons that do. You won't get the same super-smooth, glossy finish you see on most guitars though.